The Social Classification Systems - Essay Example

Anthropology Department Social ification is a concept that relate to the social structure. It involves the patterns of interactions of the people in a given societal setting. It involves the interaction of the plurality of people in the society through the shared principles, symbols, and expectations. Several factors in the society differentiate men from women, for instance, in some societies; women are not allowed to contest for political position. The main elements of the social system include the rank, power, role, and norms (Aggarwal 1994). The categorization of the society in terms of sex and gender takes various forms and vary from one place to another. This essay will involve the analysis of whether sex and gender are part of the social classification systems. Just like races and ethnic categorization in the society, gender and sex are socio-historical determined. Gender develops as people grow in the society, and it depends on the societal beliefs and cultural practices. It does not fall into the group of things people are born with but rather something that people do. Sex refers to the biological differences in the hormonal profile and the external sex organs while gender refers to the characteristics of the society or culture, and they categorize the people in the community as either masculine or feminine. For instance, societies have responsibilities and identities associated with either the masculine or feminine in the society. The acquisition of gender characteristics come through the socialization process and the interaction of people in the society (Strathern 1995). Socialization involves the acquisition of the values and traditions in the society and it takes place in a gradual form as one grows. A child born in a given setting will grow up holding on the values applicable in that community. This indicates that the society plays an important role in defining the gender roles according to the sex of an individual. The common sense in the current society differentiates culture into two different aspects of human beings. The biological sense of womanhood lies in the womb, however, culture and societal values have transformed the definition of a woman (Stolcke, p.18). The analytical concept of gender challenges the universal biological concept because of the variations in the societal values. Martin egg outlines that the society believes in the cultural values to define biological concepts regarding human beings. The scientific books define male and female as egg and sperm. The society believes that the biological differences between males and females determines their genders and may cause an enduring difference between in the capabilities of their delivery in the community. For instance, men are more aggressive in the society compared to women because of the testosterone hormone. However, it is important to realize relationship between the biological differences and gender dichotomies are complex. People believe that sex and gender are coextensive in that women are human females while men are human males. Feminists’ movements have historically disagreed with this notion and have endorsed the sex/gender differences. The gender as a system of social classification is based on the social role, behaviors and identity and the position in the society (MARTIN, 1991). Studies have been conducted to analyze the relationship between gender and sex and why they constitute the social classification system. It is evident that psychological and biological characters are influenced by the metabolic activities to some extent. Women, for instance, conserve energy in their bodies, and this makes them sluggish and conservative in the society while men expend most of their energy; this makes them eager and more passionate compared to women. The metabolic variability does not only explain the differences in characters but also brings out the justification for the social and political engagement of the men and women in the society. Using this basis, women should not withhold political offices because they are not meant for that. Several factors are outlined among the Waorani which defines the masculinity and how the community influences young man to practices activities associated with masculinity such as hunting. Sex is the biological characteristic that is based mainly on the reproductive potential while gender emerges from the social interaction and elaboration of the biological sex. The social norms and principles for the heterosexual coupling and the care of the resulting children are associated with gender. The development of gender depends on the sex of an individual; however, it exaggerates the biological difference between male and female. For instance, one may not give a conclusive reason on why a woman should swine while a man swagger. Gender result from the nurture while sex result from nature; however, nature and nurture intertwine and work together in the social system (Martin 1991). The characters are culturally acquired. The cultural values, for instance, determine the kinds of jobs that women should engage in, the courses to take among others; these constitute the gender roles in the society. Biological characteristics do not separate people in the social setting, in order to distinguish the biological variations from social and psychosocial aspects, the feminist have appropriated the term gender. In the gender categorization, there is an allocation for the transgender category in the society; this does not mean that the people are hermaphroditic. Gender is determined by the roles that people assume in the society and at the present moment, little restrictions exist on the definition of what should be done by who in the society. The society expects the masculinity picture to portray nice and fit in the stereotyped image. The issue of gender role in the society raises a lot of issues and criticism in the contemporary society (Les Back Despite the fact that biological difference are fixed, the gender responsibilities depend on the society an individual finds him or herself in. Women movement aim at bringing to an end the oppression women experience in the society as a result of the social classification system based on gender and sex. Since gender is a social factor, it is mutable and alterable by the social and political reformations in the society. Feminist aim at creating the genderless society, however, this will not result to sexless society since sex is naturally pre-determined. Creation of genderless society will eliminate the categorization of people based on their sex since the sexual anatomy will be irrelevant an individual’s determination (Strathern 1995). On the other hand, women tend to share some characteristics, which differ from what men have. The experiences and features differ naturally and, therefore, men and women cannot be the same. The social classification, for instance, categorizes people depending on their position and abilities in the society. The roles and responsibilities that men can perform in the society differs from what women can do, for example, women may not comfortable engage in the high involving jobs such the building and construction activities that require a lot of energy ad masculinity (Aggarwal 1994). The biological sex variations and the gender role variation make it tricky to classify people into a given group in the society. This is because societies have various ways of classification of people that differ from one geographical location to another depending on the cultural and traditional ties existing in that setting. In this case, it is evident that sex does not define the gender identity. Women are naturally subordinate with the cultural reproduction while men are subordinate with the cultural establishment. Men engage in activities such as making building while women are expected to give birth and raise children (Back Les 1993). What men and women are expected to engage in within a society is highly variable from one community to another; therefore, it is not definite to define whether women are universally subordinate. There are hypothesis that the distinction of people based on sex and gender has diminished with the development of an industrialized world. The use of gender and sex as a system of social classification becomes complicated with the development of technology in the modern world (Martin 1991). With the empowerment of women in the society, they can participate in the employment sector as men could do in the past. People are doing away with the traditions, which used to bring out the clear distinction between people of different sex and gender. Understanding of the social context of masculinity helps in the understanding of the social context of ethnicity, which is a form of social classification system (Strathern 1995). In conclusion, it is evident that both sex and gender are systems of classification in the society as described in this essay; however, they differ from one society to another. The use of gender and sexing the social classification has become complicated in the contemporary society with the emergency of technology. Therefore, gender and sex are used to classify people depending on their geographical location, and they may be used interchangeably (MARTIN, 1991). Various social setting has structural roles defined for a given sex. Other social settings have the same responsibilities for both sexes. The sex involves the biological features of an individual while gender involves the social responsibilities, which are determined by the cultural beliefs of a given society. Some communities define the difference based on the roles assumed while another base on the biological characteristics of an individual. References AGGARWAL, A. (1994). Teresa Del Valle (Ed.), Gendered Anthropology. London: Routledge, 1993. 227 pages. Indian Journal of Gender Studies. doi:10.1177/097152159400100216 BACK LES 1993. Gendered participation: masculinity and fieldwork in a south London adolescent community. In: Bell, D, Caplan, P & Karim, W J (eds.) Gendered Fields: Women, men and ethnography. London: Routledge. MARTIN, E. (1991). The Egg and the Sperm: How Science Has Constructed a Romance Based on Stereotypical Male-Female Roles. Signs. doi:10.1086/494680 STEWART, M. (2004). MacClancy, Jeremy. 2002. Exotic no more. Anthropology on the front lines. Social Anthropology. doi:10.1017/S0964028204300832 STRATHERN, M. (1995). Book Review:Gendered Fields: Women, Men and Ethnography Diane Read More